One in a Thousand
by taruu
Summary: A thousand steps may truly just be one when you walk alone. Mori Madoka believes that herself. / oneshot


A/N: I don't own Ghost Hunt. I absolutely love Lin and Madoka together...but sometimes I get second thoughts about this third stage relationship. The ending of this oneshot may not suit your taste, so be warned. Okay. I'm piled with loads of stupid projects and I haven't checked over the grammar and errors yet because...exhaustion..but it's not that bad. I think.

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One in a Thousand

_"A walk by myself."_

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The season of rain and cold wind came. The sky, in particular, was dull with a full view of mundane clouds, and her favourite man was departing to Japan. Her hand was tightly gripped around the umbrella's handle as she stared at his figure. She gloomily watched him retrieve all the luggage from the trunk of the van with a thump every time he placed one on the ground.

The soft splatter of the rain slid off the curved platform of her umbrella.

One, two drops each second.

Her throat seemed to tighten as the sight of him having to pull each luggage away from the edge of the sidewalk caused her to feel melancholic.

His pupil was assisting by covering him with a black umbrella as they walked towards her. A minute passed and they stood in front of one another.

"Our flight is leaving in ten," the man whom she loved and admired dearly spoke. "You'll be fine alone with Martin and Luella in England, I hope." A few dots of rain dampened his dark fringes,

She stiffly nodded, avoiding any eye contact with the two men, in worry she would lose herself. "Yes," she heavily replied, her firm grip on the handle slowly slid back and forth from perspiration. "As long as Luella takes her pills and Martin have his good night's sleep, we'll be okay."

"Good," he said and slightly tilted his head downwards to see her face for a clearer sight. "And you should take a few rests from work as well."

She gave a quick glance at him and lowered her chin. "Don't worry about me, Lin. I'll be all right." With another glance to the pupil beside the man, her lips slightly stretched upwards to a smile. "As for you, Oliver, don't rush this situation and don't stay up all night working. You need plenty of energy."

Oliver turned away with an inaudible breath of impatience and waved a hand over his shoulder. "I'll be inside the airport near the food court." Before he left, he gave the umbrella to Lin and pulled the luggage with him.

"He's always like that. Someone should really rebuke him for his cold manners," she mumbled and glared at the back of Oliver's head as it disappeared behind the airport glass doors.

Lin nodded shortly, averting his eyes back to her. "I suppose you'll be fine when driving back home, Madoka."

Madoka wanly smiled. "Yes, of course. Although the van does need a bit of mending in a few places, I think it'll hold ten or eleven more engine starts."

He gave another nod.

They stood in front of each other with a moment of silence. The rain pelted past them as it curved into the wind's direction, battering against cars that drove next to the sidewalk they were standing on.

"...When will you return from Japan?" she quietly asked, her other hand in her coat pocket curled into a tense fist.

He stared at her. "Perhaps in a year or two. Depending on how many lakes there are and how many we are to visit, I cannot make an accurate prediction."

"...I see."

"Is something the matter?"

Madoka's view only included the concrete ground and both of their pairs of soaked shoes. "If..." she began slowly, "there were a time where someone affected a person very much that they couldn't say it to their face, and is most likely saying it at the moment, what do you believe the 'someone' who affected the person thinks of them?"

Lin softly blinked. "If the 'someone' were to affect the person extremely, and that the person had to force them self to say that, I believe the 'someone' is most likely half more times affected by them, if the 'someone' was able to affect the person that much."

A minute passed and she nodded in approval.

He cleared his throat and gave a brief glance at his watch. "I'll be heading inside now," he started. "I'll message you when Oliver and I land in Japan."

"Be safe," she quietly said and waved at his walking figure as he slipped behind the front doors.

Her stomach sank immediately and she knew the feeling was regret. It lead her vision to blur from wavering tears that only glistened in her magenta eyes. The thought of telling him about her two-year long affection and that it couldn't be replaced by another man caused a few drops. He couldn't have possibly felt the same way and she knew that.

She released the umbrella from her hand as it was blown away from the wind and she rubbed her eyes that suddenly was unable to cease teardrops. The teardrops soon flowed heavily over her cheeks and her body stooped down with trembles.

Looking up to attempt to prevent tears, she covered her whimpers with a hand over a part of her lower face. Her determination was drained and all she felt was despondency. Her damp clothes and hair stuck to her skin as droplets of rain seemed to never end.

She silently stood back up and slowly walked back to the black van, her shoulders still trembling.

She wouldn't speak of her feelings, and would never, especially not in front of him. Their friendship would be destroyed if she wasn't careful. She knew they both weren't compatible

And he probably knew that, too.


End file.
